Emotional Weaknesses
by FinalCatasy
Summary: Is love a strength or a weakness? Cloud and Tifa are living with the rest of their friends in Midgar Edge, but strange appearances of old friends from the Lifestream are beginning to crop up in random places. What does this mean? Cloti/Zerith
1. Here Again?

_**Authors Note: **Hi there!_  
_This is my first fan fiction, and what better game to do fan fiction on than the famed Final Fantasy VII?_  
_So anyway, this is CloudxTifa and ZackxAerith, as well as having many... 'surprises' all the way through. At least I hope they'll be surprises, I've been writing original fiction since I could write (which is since I was three, so a pretty long time) so I'm no newbie to this kind of thing!_

_I really hope you enjoy it, this chapter is only short, but it's more of an introduction. Though it doesn't really introduce anything, it just confuses you. I know this because it confuses me._  
_Please review with constructive critisism, though I can't think of a reason why anyone would, no flaming or anything like that._

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"I knew I'd find you here."

Cloud turned around and put a hand up to his face, holding his golden hair away from his eyes. Standing in front of him was Tifa, her black hair blowing beautifully around her face in the strong wind. Cloud flashed a forlorn half-grin at her, and turned back around.

He was sitting on a cliff edge, overlooking the ruined city of Midgar, and the prosperous city of Edge by it's side. Behind him were many colourful flowers, that grew so happily and healthily, even in the harsh conditions of the terrain and weather. The spot was a very important place for Cloud.

He heard Tifa sit down next to him, kicking her legs over the side of the cliff.

"Hey, don't you think you come here way too often?" she said softly. Cloud hung his head and was silent, contemplating, while Tifa waited patiently for an answer, looking expectantly at him.

"I've been... hearing... seeing... him." Cloud finally said, his head still down and hidden from view. "I don't know if it's because something is up or what, but he's just been appearing and talking to me as if he's still alive."

Tifa looked at Cloud for a moment after he had finished confessing, a small frown on her face. She didn't need to ask who 'he' was, for Tifa knew whom Cloud was talking about. Zack, Cloud's best friend, who had died at the hands of the Shinra army six years ago, but not after taking out hundreds, maybe thousands of the troops. The man had been a SOLDIER first class, and Cloud had greatly idolised him, wanting to be like him. After 'The Nibelhiem Incident', when the two were kept in mako test-tubes for four years, having been experimented on, Zack had saved Cloud's life by breaking the both of them out of the facility they were kept in, and taking Cloud, while in comatose from mako-poisoning , all the way from Nibelhiem, to Gongaga, to Banora, and then to the outskirts of Midgar, where Zack hid the unconscious Cloud behind a few rocks while he fought the Shinra Army. On his death bed, Zack had given Cloud the symbol of his dreams and honour, the huge Buster Sword, which now sat peacefully in a church of the ruined Sector Five slums in Midgar.

"What's... what's he been saying?" Tifa practically whispered. Cloud looked up at her, his face like that of an injured puppy's. Tifa wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and comfort him, but she restrained herself.

"It's always the same, he'll appear and tell me that 'You never know when it could happen' then he just... disappears again." explained Cloud. "I... have no idea what to make of it."

Tifa frowned and shuffled closer to Cloud, leaning her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and rested his chin on her head.

"It'll be okay, Cloud." said Tifa in a comforting voice.

It was silent for a while, the only sound was that of the howling wind, swirling around the couple and the unaffected flowers.

"Did I ever tell you," whispered Cloud after a while "What happened when he died?"

Tifa clenched her eyes shut. She had briefly met Zack when he had come to Nibelhiem with Sephiroth all those years ago, he was a good guy, and was concerned for Tifa's safety, even though she was a mere acquaintance to him. "...No," she replied "You've never spoken about it before -- ever."

Cloud sighed, rubbing his hand up and down Tifa's cold arm. "We were so close..." he murmured. "So close to Midgar."

"What do you mean?" said Tifa slowly.

Cloud put his cheek against her hair. "He died... here." he all but mouthed.

"I guess that explains the flowers." said Tifa, burrowing into the crook of Cloud's neck, trying to comfort him.

"Mmm," mumbled Cloud.

It was silent for a while more, until finally Tifa raised her head and looked into Cloud's shining blue eyes. "Hey, let's go home, okay?" she said sweetly. "I left Marlene and Denzel with Yuffie-"

"-And we all know how potentially dangerous _that_ is." snorted Cloud.

"Well, you never know. We could go back to find that she's taken them on a materia hunt or something." laughed Tifa.

A small smile crept across Cloud's face, and was returned by a big one from Tifa. "Alright then, let's go." sighed Cloud.

The couple stood up, and walked away from the death-place of Cloud's hero, hand in hand. Neither of them knowing what awaited them in the very near future.

_Cloud... Be careful..._

_

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**Authors Note: **Thanks for reading! Drop me a review, and I'll get back to you in this spot next chapter. Any kind of review is welcome!_

_Thanks again,  
-Cat_


	2. Complications

_**Authors Note:**__Hi again!  
I don't really have much to say here, so I guess I'll just shut up and get on with the story._

_This chapter covers how our dead characters are doing in the lifestream, and also more about Cloud, Tifa and the rest. Enjoy!

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_

"Well, would you look at that. Cloud has a girlfriend!"

"They've known each other since childhood, Zack,"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, it's not like it's new news or anything,"

"Well it's not like we're new news but you still deny it,"

"I do not!"

Aerith playfully pushed Zack's forearm, to little success. The strong, heavily muscled SOLDIER felt little pressure on his hard arms, throwing back his head and laughing at Aerith.

"I suppose not. I mean, who would ever deny that they're in a relationship with _me_?" teased Zack, the grin that had so often appeared stretching across his lively face.

The two of them were surrounded by the glowing green of the lifestream, it swirled around them as they sat, watching the image of the world that the spirit energy was forming for them. Or rather, for the last Cetra.

Aerith stood up, and put her hands of her hips, meaning to look stern.

"Really, though. We should find some way to warn them! They have no idea what's going to happen, and they need to get to safety!"

Zack's cheeky smile faded from his lips as he, too, stood up. "Yeah... but I could never gather enough energy to be able to tell him the full scope of things, and you can't leave here,"

"But telling him the same thing every time isn't going to work, Zack, maybe you could tell him a small piece of information every time? Or leave him some sort of clue?" Aerith whispered.

Zack could see that Aerith was very worried about what they suspected was going to happen, heck, he was, too, but Zack did not feel the planet like Aerith did. Yet he felt enough to care.

Zack stepped forward, closing the distance between him and Aerith, pulling her into a gentle hug. Aerith sniffed, and Zack was aware that she was crying, and held her tighter against his hard chest, but still gently and lovingly. Aerith reached up and put her arms around Zack's neck, burrowing into him for comfort. Zack lifted Aerith off the ground effortlessly.

"Alright then," he whispered into her delicate ear, "How about we leave a letter for him?"

Aerith lifted her head from Zack's shoulder to look at him with her wide green eyes, Zack grinned at her, and with surprising strength, put her hands on either side of Zack's face and began to kiss him in reply.

"Well, we're home," sighed Cloud.

"You sound... I don't know, hesitant," Said Tifa, still leaning against his back and clinging to his waist on the bike.

"Hmm. I guess I'd just like to know... why," Cloud said, pouting.

"I'm sure it'll be alright, Cloud, maybe you're just... missing him," Tifa reassured him, sitting up.

"No doubt about that, but he died seven years ago. I thought I'd stopped hearing and seeing him three years ago," sighed Cloud, dismounting the bike, then helping Tifa climb down.

Tifa could think of nothing to say, and merely grimaced at Cloud.

The two of them made their way to the back door of the Seventh Heaven. Tifa reached out for the door handle, but was stopped by Cloud grabbing her wrist.

Tifa looks up at him, who was gazing down at her. His adorable pout said a thousand unspoken words, but as he leant in to kiss her, a million unspoken words whooshed around them.

"Hey gu—Oh, I guess I shouldn't of interrupted..."

Cloud and Tifa both immediately lifted their heads to glare at the petite black-haired ninja standing in the doorway, smiling sheepishly.

"I think I'll just... go..." she stuttered, zooming past them and into the street.

Tifa shook her head. "At least she didn't take the kids to the materia caves or anything. Right, Cloud?"

Cloud nodded, and walked into the bar with Tifa behind him.

"Marlene, Denzel! I brought Cloud home!" Tifa yelled up the stairs,

"Cloud!"  
"He's home!"

There was a sudden rush of feet from the top of the stairs as the two children came leaping down, throwing themselves at Cloud. Cloud patted their heads, and looked at Tifa, whom was smiling lovingly at him and the kids.

Then, three things happened at once, none of them expected.

First, was a bang from the from door and a shout of "I'm-a back!" to which Marlene rushed towards the front of the bar with a cry of "Papa!"  
Second, out of the corner of his eye, Cloud saw, through a nearby window, a man with spiky raven hair putting a faintly glowing green envelope into the moogle-shaped mailbox of the Seventh Heaven. Cloud whipped his head around to look, but by the time he did, the man was gone.  
Third, Cloud heard an odd noise from Tifa, and he turned back to her to see her with a worried, pained expression, one hand clamped to her mouth, the other to her stomach, looking at Cloud with wide eyes, before she darted up the stairs.

"Tifa...?"

Cloud looked down. Denzel was staring at the spot where Tifa had disappeared, a puzzled expression on his face. He then looked up at Cloud, questioning in his eyes.

"I'll go see what's wrong. You go say hi to Uncle Barret," said Cloud reassuringly

Denzel nodded and ran to the front of the bar after Marlene.

Cloud looked back out of the window where he had seen Zack before, and once again saw nothing.

Sighing, he climbed the stairs to see if Tifa was alright.

He found her in the bathroom, curled up in a ball at the foot of the sink, her face hidden behind her knees. She looked up as he walked in and smiled weakly at him.

Cloud walked over, and sat down beside her. "You okay?" he asked.

"I am now, I guess, but... this isn't the first time this has happened Cloud, it happened last night, and before I came looking for you, too. I think I need to see a doctor," Tifa mumbled, her crimson eyes locked with Cloud's blue ones.

Cloud nodded in understanding. "Okay,"

Tifa smiled at him again as he leant down to kiss her once more.

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_**Authors Note:**__ Ta-da! That was a bit of a cliff-hanger, but not a very good one. (Hopefully) Better ones to come!  
So, yeah. Please leave a review, subscribe, add to favourites, whatever. Or, to use the common term, 'R&R'._

_Thanks for reading,  
-Cat_


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